The present invention relates to electric utility systems, and more specifically, to a method of balancing loads on an electrical grid.
Electric utility companies are interested in providing a supply of electricity that meets as closely as possible the demands of its consumers. Demand generally fluctuates significantly throughout the day, with large energy consumption during daylight hours and small energy consumption at night. In order to provide a supply of electricity that meets this fluctuating energy demand, the utility companies generally ramp up and ramp down generators on a given schedule, incurring excess cost in the process. One attempt to reduce the fluctuations in energy demand is to introduce price incentives that encourage consumers to use more electricity during off-peak hours than during peak hours. However, these price incentives generally result in the creation of an additional peak in daily electricity consumption rather than creating a constant load or demand through the day.